The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) has warned that the world is facing an unprecedented housing crisis, with about 3.4 billion people currently living without secure, safe, or adequate housing.

The warning was contained in its latest World Cities Report 2026, titled “The Global Housing Crisis: Pathways to Action,” which highlights worsening global inequality in access to decent housing.

According to the report, more than 1.1 billion people are living in informal settlements and slums, where residents face daily risks such as overcrowding, insecure land tenure, exposure to natural disasters, and lack of basic services, including safe sanitation.

The UN agency noted that housing is often delivered in isolation, without proper integration into community planning, environmental conditions, or cultural and social contexts.

It warned that the global housing crisis is being driven by rising construction costs, limited housing supply, forced displacement, and deepening urban inequality.

The report also revealed that only 19 per cent of cities globally have strong civil society participation in urban planning, limiting inclusive decision-making and worsening housing outcomes.

UN-Habitat identified five major interconnected drivers of the crisis: affordability challenges, displacement, informality, sustainability concerns, and poor liveability conditions.

The report stressed that housing must be treated as a global priority and not merely as a market commodity, urging governments to adopt people-centred and inclusive housing systems.

It called for stronger coordination between national and local governments, noting that weak policy integration and fragmented governance structures continue to undermine effective housing delivery.

“Governments should re-establish housing as a public priority,” the report stated, adding that housing policies must align with human rights obligations and broader urban development strategies.

It further highlighted that housing prices have risen sharply worldwide, with global price-to-income ratios increasing from 9.5 in 2010 to 11.7 in 2023, making affordability a growing global concern.

The report warned that inequality is worsening housing pressure, leading to rising rents, overcrowding, and reduced access to decent shelter, especially for low-income groups.

It recommended targeted interventions such as public housing schemes, rental subsidies, and expanded access to affordable credit, particularly for vulnerable groups such as informal workers, migrants, young adults, and female-headed households.

However, it cautioned that demand-side support alone is not sufficient, stressing that supply-side reforms in land management, infrastructure, and housing delivery systems are also critical.

UN-Habitat also noted that climate change is increasingly worsening housing vulnerability, especially in flood-prone and disaster-prone urban areas.

Executive Director of UN-Habitat, Anacláudia Rossbach, described the situation as the result of decades of underinvestment, rapid urbanisation, economic pressures, and repeated crises that have displaced millions of people worldwide.

She noted that despite global commitments under the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals, housing shortages have continued to grow rather than decline.

According to the report, the global housing deficit increased from 251 million units in 2010 to 288 million in 2023, while about 133 million people were displaced globally in 2024 due to conflict, violence, persecution, and disasters.

The report also estimated that about 64 million people were evicted between 2003 and 2023, warning that such displacement often pushes affected households deeper into poverty and housing insecurity.

UN-Habitat emphasized that many displaced persons now move into cities, where they often end up in informal settlements with limited access to safe and adequate housing.

It concluded that addressing the global housing crisis requires urgent, coordinated, and long-term reforms that place adequate housing at the centre of sustainable development and human dignity.

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Nigeria’s Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Muttaqha Darma, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to transforming informal settlements into safer and more liveable communities as part of a wider urban renewal strategy across the country.

Speaking in Abuja during a courtesy visit by officials of the Nigeria Institute of Town Planners (NITP), led by its National President, Dr. Ogbonna Chime, Darma said the government would focus on upgrading long-established underserved communities rather than allowing them remain neglected.

Makoko, Gishiri Among Priority Communities

The minister identified communities including Makoko in Lagos State, Gishiri in Abuja, as well as selected settlements in Kano and Port Harcourt, as areas already under consideration for intervention.

According to him, the government aims to transform these locations into habitable and dignified environments through better infrastructure, planning systems, and urban support facilities.

Darma explained that the initiative forms part of a broader urban development policy currently being developed by the ministry.

He also disclosed plans to revisit the Regional and Urban Development Law enacted in 1992, a framework many stakeholders believe has suffered decades of poor implementation.

Government Seeks Collaboration With Professionals

The minister stressed that partnerships with development agencies and professional bodies would be critical to successful implementation.

He invited town planning experts to provide technical recommendations that could strengthen the ministry’s strategy.

According to him, collaboration remains necessary to ensure policies translate into measurable improvements across Nigerian cities.

FG Pushes Skills Development in Built Environment

On workforce development, Darma reiterated the government’s commitment to empowering local professionals within the built environment sector.

He revealed that approximately 2,000 young Nigerians had already received specialised training to acquire practical skills relevant to construction and urban development.

“The Ministry already trained individually about 2,000 of them to get skills in the built environment, and these young people are all over Nigeria applying what they learnt,” he said.

Minister Urges Professionals to Embrace Technology

Addressing concerns around workforce shortages and changing industry trends, Darma encouraged professionals to adopt emerging technologies and artificial intelligence.

He noted that future opportunities in planning and infrastructure development would increasingly favour professionals who adapt to digital transformation.

The minister also called for alternative funding approaches to strengthen professional institutions and support regulatory activities.

Earlier, NITP President Dr. Ogbonna Chime urged the government to fully implement the 1992 planning law, recruit new professionals, strengthen urban renewal efforts, and improve institutional funding to raise standards within the sector.

The post FG Targets Makoko, Gishiri, Others for Slum Upgrade Under Urban Renewal Plan appeared first on Housing TV Africa.

Civil society organisations (CSOs) and residents of Makoko, Oko Agbon, and Sogunro communities have criticised the Lagos State Government over what they describe as unlawful and forceful evictions that threaten to displace tens of thousands of people without resettlement or compensation.

The groups, operating under the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation and Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI), accused the state government of breaching court orders, Nigerian laws, and international human rights standards through the ongoing demolition exercise.

In a joint statement signed by Megan Chapman of Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, alongside Jude Ojo, Bisola Akinmuyiwa, and Kunnu Paul of the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, the organisations said the demolitions began just two days before Christmas as part of a planned clearance around high-tension powerlines running through the waterfront settlements and the Third Mainland Bridge corridor.

According to the statement, residents initially cooperated with the exercise after government officials assured community leaders that the demolition would be limited to a legally recognised 30-metre setback from the powerlines, as stipulated under Lagos State Building Control Regulations. There were also assurances that affected households would receive some form of compensation.

The first phase of demolition reportedly continued until January 3, 2026, excluding Christmas Day, displacing thousands of residents. Many families were forced to crowd into neighbouring homes or sleep in open canoes due to the sudden loss of shelter.

However, tensions escalated on January 4, 2026, when residents alleged that demolition equipment, including amphibious excavators, moved beyond the agreed 30-metre setback and began destroying homes deeper within the communities.

Community members staged protests between January 4 and 5, but were allegedly met with force by police officers attached to the demolition team. Witnesses claimed tear gas was deployed across the settlements, while some structures were set ablaze during the confrontation.

Amid the unrest, community leaders reportedly met officials at the Lagos State Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development in Alausa, where they were informed that the clearance would extend to an additional setback of up to 100 metres or more—an action residents say has no legal backing and contradicts earlier assurances.

“As of January 9, 2026, demolitions had already gone beyond 100 metres and were still ongoing,” Chapman said, warning that while thousands have already been displaced, tens of thousands more remain at risk.

The CSOs referenced a house-numbering exercise conducted in 2020–2021 by Makoko youth groups, with support from JEI and the Federation, which estimated the population of Makoko’s four villages at over 80,000 people. The figure excludes neighbouring communities such as Oko Agbon and Sogunro, which also face potential displacement.

The organisations warned that the continued demolitions could trigger a major humanitarian crisis if urgent intervention is not taken. They called on the Lagos State Government to immediately halt further demolitions, respect court rulings, and engage affected communities through inclusive urban planning and resettlement solutions.

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